Apple has invested a reported $500 million in signing games to its new Arcade subscription service. According to the Financial Times, which cited multiple sources familiar with the deals, Apple paid "several million dollars each" on the majority of the games that will be included with Arcade at launch.
There is also an additional incentive for developers willing to delay launching on Google Play and other rival services, giving Apple Arcade a period of timed exclusivity.
Apple declined to comment on the story, but it stated that it would "[contribute] to the development costs" of its partners when it announced the service in March.